The present invention relates to a discharging container comprising a laminated bottle that has a delaminatable inner layer on the inner surface of an outer layer and at least one ventilation hole to suck ambient air into a space between the inner and outer layers, wherein the container is adapted for use as a hair-dyeing tool or the like.
The Patent Laying-Open Gazette No. Hei. 4-267727 discloses a multi-layered container designed such that ambient air is inhibited from entering the container through a mouth while allowing its content to be discharged by the pumping action of an inner and outer layers. This container consists of a bottle and a cap, wherein the bottle is composed of an impermeable inner layer and a squeezable outer layer, with the cap being attached to the mouth part of the bottle. The inner layer can be readily delaminated from the outer layer in which at least one ventilation hole is formed such that the ambient air can communicate with a space between the layers. A check valve is incorporated in connection with the ventilation hole. The cap has a discharging outlet and a further check valve cooperating therewith.
Therefore, the inner layer will spontaneously shrivel as quantity of the content decreases, with the ambient air flowing into the space through the at least one ventilation hole so that only the outer layer can restore and always maintain its normal configuration. Its content remains satisfactory in quality, from the beginning to end of use, without being adversely affected by ambient air or external light beams.
The multi-layered container in the prior art has a film tag adhered in part to the rim of the ventilation hole, and a tag larger than the hole is disposed inside the outer layer so as to serve as a valve body in a ventilation valve. Such a kind of ventilation valve will allow air to flow only inwardly into the container from outside. When a user grips the container having a decreased amount of content left therein, the ventilation hole will be closed by the valve body due to an increasing inner pressure between the layers so as not to allow any amount of air to leak out from the interlayer space. Thus, such a depressed outer layer will compress air present between the layers, thereby causing the compressed interlayer air to press in a centripetal direction the inner layer to be capable of exuding the content out of the container to the very end.
The prior art method may comprise the steps of preliminarily blow molding or thermally forming the outer layer that has the ventilation hole formed therein, and subsequently integrating it with the inner layer. However, such a method requires so many steps as to raise manufacture cost of the discharging containers and lower yield thereof.
The present invention provides a discharging container having at least one ventilation hole but lacking any valve body in connection therewith, nevertheless allowing ambient air to flow into the interlayer space and ensuring exhaustion of the liquid content. Thus, the invention aims at simplifying the structure of the container and lowering its manufacture cost.
The discharging container of the present invention may comprise a laminated bottle having a mouth part and a cap fitting on the mouth part of the bottle. The laminated bottle may comprise of an outer layer and an inner layer laminated on an inner surface of the outer layer such as to be capable of delaminating from the outer layer, and the inner layer may be capable of being charged with a liquid content. The outer layer may have a body part capable of being deformed so as to deflate and recovering its undeformed normal configuration. At least one inlet may be formed in the outer layer to allow ambient air to flow into a space present between the outer layer and the inner layer while the deformed outer layer is recovering the normal configuration. The cap may have an outlet for discharging the liquid content out of the inner layer.
In the container of the invention, the inlet may always be kept open, and the inlet may have an opening area smaller than that of the discharging outlet such that an air in the space between the layers is compressed when the body part of the outer layer is deformed so as to deflate, whereby the liquid content is discharged out through the outlet as a result that the compressed air presses inwardly about a circumference of the inner layer. Owing to this feature wherein the ambient air inlet has such a small diameter, for instance about 0.1 to 0.5 mm, a rate at which the actual and varying internal capacity of the bottle""s body part inner layer will be decreased is rendered higher than a flow rate of the interlayer air being discharged outwards, when squeezing the bottle""s body part holding a reduced amount of liquid content left therein. The air between the inner and outer layers will consequently be compressed, and such compressed air causes the inner layer to further deform itself inwardly and centripetally so as to allow the liquid content to be squeezed out more smoothly through the cap""s discharging outlet. This outlet has an opening area much larger than that of the ambient air inlet, whereby a flow resistance of the content flowing out through the outlet is much lower than that of the air flowing out through the inlet. In addition, the discharging outlet in usual cases may have a check valve in connection therewith in order to prevent the liquid content from flowing backwards. Preferably, this check valve is designed to open substantially without encountering any resistance.
Releasing the bottle after use, the outer layer will expand and restore its normal configuration due to its shape recovering property. In the course of such a change in shape, the space between the inner and outer layers will become larger and larger to produce a negative pressure. Consequently, the ambient air will gradually flow into the interlayer space through the ambient air inlet, until the negative pressure disappears.
Such a slow expansion and gentle recovery of natural statue of its outer layer body part after use to discharge the content, in contrast with quick deformation of said part when discharging the liquid content, will however scarcely hinder convenient usage of the container of this type. The present invention utilizing this advantage is capable of providing a simply constructed discharging container dispensed with any extra or additional valve.
The laminated bottle described above may be formed by blow molding such a laminated parison that the inner layer is preliminarily molded on the inner surface of the outer layer. It may be possible to employ, in place of this method, any other appropriate molding methods such as an injection-blow-molding. The body part of the laminated bottle may be depressed to deform itself radially and inwardly (to show the so-called xe2x80x9cthe squeezabilityxe2x80x9d), or alternatively be depressed to deform itself in an axial direction if the outer layer body part is made to be of a spherical shape, a tubby beer-barrel shape or any other configuration. It is preferable, after preparation of the laminated bottle and before mounting a cap thereon, to evacuate the interior of the inner layer through the bottle mouth. This is for the purpose of facilitating the inner layer to delaminate readily from the outer layer during use. Also preferably, at least one ventilation hole whose opening is larger than that of the ambient air inlet may be formed in the outer layer, in order to smoothly introduce the external air into the interlayer space when evacuating the bottle as just mentioned above. After evacuation, compressed air will be blown inwardly through the bottle mouth so as to return the inner layer into its position sticking to the outer layer, before stopping the ventilation hole with a closing member. The bottle will then be filled with the liquid content poured through its mouth, and then putting the cap thereon to provide a bottle container of the present invention. The ventilation hole and/or the ambient air inlet may be formed by pricking the outer layer with an appropriate member such as a needle, pin or the like heated to a sufficiently high temperature, during evacuation of the bottle to shrivel its inner layer. Any other appropriate means may be used instead to form these openings solely in the outer layer.
The closing member may be a plug snugly fitted in the ventilation hole, or alternatively, the cap on the bottle mouth may act as the closing member.
Further, it also may be possible to form the ambient air inlet in the member closing the ventilation hole.
From another aspect, the discharging container of the present invention comprises a laminated bottle having a delaminatable inner layer laminated on the inner surface of an outer layer in such a manner as to be capable of exfoliation therefrom, and also comprises a cap detachably attached to the mouth part of the bottle. The cap has an outlet formed therein to discharge a liquid content held inside the inner layer. A body part of the bottle outer layer can squeeze itself and then restore its normal configuration, and a mouth part of the outer layer has at least one comparatively large ventilation hole formed therein. The cap may closely contact the mouth part of the bottle substantially all around expect for a clearance below the ventilation hole, the clearance being defined between the mouth part and the cap.
The clearance may have an opening area smaller than that of the discharging outlet such that an air in the space between the layers is compressed when the body part of the outer layer is deformed so as to deflate, whereby the liquid content is discharged out through the outlet as a result of the compressed air pressing inwardly a circumference of the inner layer. Also in this case, a compression rate per unit time of the internal capacity of the inner layer is rendered higher than a flow rate of the air being blown outwards from between the inner and outer layers through the clearance when squeezing the bottle""s body part with a user""s hand. The interlayer air thus compressed will depress and shrivel the inner layer so as to allow the liquid content to be squeezed out through the outlet. In the bottle of this type, the inner layer""s bottom may comprise a flange engaging with the outer layer""s bottom so as to firmly secure these bottoms to each other and prevent the inner layer""s lower end portion from curling up. Preferably, the flange may be formed when injecting a molten resin to mold the inner layer, in such a manner that the resin dashes inwards through a hole previously formed in the closed bottom of the cylindrical outer layer.
The laminated bottle of the present invention may be connected at its mouth with a cap having a check valve therein, thus rendering the discharging container applicable to various uses. In detail, the discharging container comprises the laminated bottle whose outer layer""s body part is capable of deflating and deforming itself and the cap fitted on the bottle""s mouth. The cap has a discharging outlet formed therein to discharge a liquid content held within the inner layer, and the discharging outlet has a check valve disposed therein. The outer layer""s body part may be of a cylindrical shape to deform itself radially and inwardly, or may be of a spherical shape, of a tubby beer-barrel shape or of any other shape that can be depressed down towards its bottom to axially deform itself.
The laminated bottle of the present invention may be formed by any appropriate method such as the injection molding technique or the blow molding technique. The direct-blow molding, the injection-stretch-blow molding or the like technique may be employed as the blow molding method. However, the injection-stretch-blow molding is preferable to ensure precision in the molded products.